How did Tyler1 get to the top 0.5% in chess? Twitch streamer's journey explored

Twitch streamer Tyler Steinkamp or "Tyler1" has managed to raise some eyebrows through his incredible chess journey and growth. Tyler, who has been a League of Legends streamer for the entirety of his online career, has been obsessed with another game - chess. So much so, that the streamer has managed to reach a whopping 1,900 ELO (Rapid) on Chess.com.

To put it into perspective, Tyler's online rating puts him in the top 0.5% of players on the website. In fact, according to his profile, he is nearly in the top 50K players (active) on Chess.com. Here's how his profile looks right now (May 7):

Tyler is among the top 0.5% of all players on Chess.com (Image via Chess.com)

---

How did Tyler1 become so good at Chess? Exploring his Chess.com profile

Tyler1, a dedicated League of Legends player for years, has recently emerged as a dominant creator in the chess community. His Chess.com account, under the moniker "BIG_TONKA_T," was only created in July 2023. In the same month, he hit his lowest rating of 199 in Rapid.

This was when he was participating in Twitch's amateur chess tournament, Pogchamps 5. Tyler1, still inexperienced at the time, struggled and lost in the quarter-finals against Australian creator Alex "I Did A Thing."

Since then, he has become immensely dedicated to the game, spending hours each day (which he still does) and consistently improving. He achieved the 1000 rating mark in September 2023, followed by 1500 in October 2023, and most recently, on May 6, he reached 1900.

During this period, between July 2023 and May 2024, the streamer has remarkably played over 8,500 games (out of which almost 6,000 games are in Rapid) and attempted over 12,100 puzzles:

Tyler has played over 8.5K games on Chess.com (Image via Chess.com)

---

What opening does Tyler1 play in his games?

One of the most intriguing aspects of his games is his consistent use of a single starting technique, commonly referred to as the "Cow Opening." Although not recognized as an official opening, it is listed as the "Uncommon Opening" on Chess.com.

This is somewhat regarded as a meme and not taken seriously. It typically involves moving the E and D pawns (when played with White) one square, followed by rotating the knight from G1 to E2 and then to G3. Here's how the opening looks:

Tyler's most played opening - The Cow (Image via Chess.com)

Here's how it looks when played with Black:

Tyler plays the same defence as Black (Image via Chess.com)

---

Tyler1's swift ascent in chess rating has undoubtedly caught many off guard. Nonetheless, there's a widespread belief that he may soon reach a plateau. While he's currently on track to surpass the 2,000 ELO mark, his ultimate potential in the game remains uncertain at this time.

It's worth noting that Tyler1 has transitioned from being solely a League of Legends streamer to being recognized as a prominent figure in the chess streaming community as well. As an acknowledgement, Tyler1 won the Best Chess Streamer award at The Streamer Awards 2024.